Vinales: It’s like the Yamaha is a totally different bike

Maverick Vinales says he is struggling to understand why he cannot get the Michelin tyres to perform on the Yamaha M1, saying the bike feels entirely different to what he experienced in the Jerez openers.

The Spaniard languished down in 14th position after slipping back during the Czech Republic MotoGP and he appeared to be struggling somewhat again in FP1 as he languished 11th on the timesheets.

Though the Red Bull Ring isn’t considered one of Yamaha’s stronger venues, Vinales says the M1 doesn’t feel as strong as it did during the Jerez weekend, blaming mid-corner grip, an area the Yamaha is traditionally very strong.

“We are trying to understand why we have such a difference of performance from Jerez to Brno and here. I didn’t have a good feeling with the front and a really bad one with the rear. It is something very strange because it is very different from what we have in Jerez.

“It seems we ride a totally different bike. We need to understand and we are working to improve the bike and at the same time understand where we are: this is the most important.”

With KTM looking strong for a second weekend in succession and Ducati looking as though it is returning to form around a particularly favourable venue for the Italian team, Vinales admits if the problem isn’t resolved he is in for another tough weekend.

“We don’t have acceleration or rear grip on the banking so compared to Jerez it seems like we turn nothing. So we need to understand how to improve that turning first of all then see how we can improve the rest. Tomorrow I want to improve the turning but then also the front feeling is not good. There are a lot of things that can affect our performance.

““It is frustrating if we don’t solve that problem. We have two weekends to do it and to learn for the next years because it can happen any time. For me it will be crucial this weekend to improve that feeling and next weekend to have solved that problem. We have an important weekend ahead to solve the problems from Brno and here.”